The Curriculum Dimensions

The dimensions are the areas of the curriculum in which we believe we provide particular additional opportunities.

Active

We have a strong tradition of excellence and participation in a wide variety of sporting activities and provide high quality specialist PE and Outdoor Education teaching across the school.

By providing a balance between participation and excellence, we achieve a vibrant PE curriculum and a wide range of after school activities.

We provide specialist PE teaching across the school and introduce the children to more unusual activities such as archery, fencing and climbing. Our teams consistently perform at a high level in a variety of sports, often representing the school at district and county events.

Arts

We value the special contribution of art, dance, drama and music and promote these skills through a wide and varied range of opportunities.

We have a strong tradition of excellence in Arts education and value the contribution it makes to each child’s personal development. There are opportunities for every child to perform on the stage at least annually and we enrich our curriculum with a wide range of visiting musicians, artists and performers.

Music plays an important part in school life and we promote instrument tuition with over 100 children learning an instrument with specialist instrument tutors.

Both our choir and orchestra meet weekly and have performed at the Royal Hall, other local venues and music festivals.

Environment

At Pannal School, we recognise how the outdoor environment is a resource to enhance children’s learning and we believe every child should have opportunities to learn outside the classroom. We have a rich and exciting outdoor environment at our school. We use our extensive school grounds, wildlife area and the adjoining woodland regularly as a means of inspiring and stimulating children in their learning. We plan for outdoor learning opportunities and promote conservation activities.

When children join our school we seek consent for them to participate in local walks so that we can also use the area within walking distance of the school. We hope to give children memorable experiences from which they learn about their inter-relationship with the world around them, the impact they have on it and their responsibility to care for it.

In years 4,5 and 6, the children take part in residential visits which complement their learning in school and give them opportunities to learn about other areas of Yorkshire.

Children in year 5 and 6 have regular Forest School sessions in the woodland adjacent to the school.

In year 6, the children work towards their John Muir Award. This gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their learning about the natural world and study an aspect of the wood that is of particular interest to them. https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/john-muir-award

We have signed up to the Learning Outside the Classroom (LoTC) Manifesto. www.lotc.org.uk

The Wildlife Area

Our wildlife area is a small, self-contained area of largely wild, uncultivated, rough ground adjacent to the local woods in the corner of the playing field. It is used by children throughout the school.

Our P.T.A has funded the installation of an outdoor ‘room’ (our Research Station) which affords staff and children the opportunity to work outdoors when the weather is inclement or as a base to work from.

The wildlife area has a pathway enclosing several areas. There is a woodpile where mini-beasts thrive, a marshy area, a more wooded area and an area populated by brambles. In addition, one side of the area backs onto the woods and a variety of wildlife encroaches from there. Grasses and other wild plants grow throughout. The area is purposefully left to be ‘wild’ and only minimal effort is made to control growth: usually where brambles and nettles impinge on the pathways.

The wildlife area gives children opportunities to study plants and mini-beasts in their natural habitat. In addition, children study lifecycles, seed dispersal and the changing seasons. The children also use the area to sketch, view the birdlife visiting the bird feeders, listen to stories and as an inspiration for literacy and numeracy activities. The children practise the use of scientific collecting equipment and the purposeful use of information texts. They also become increasingly used to working away from the classroom.

Our wildlife area is a valuable asset for the school, helping to make the children’s learning more real and relevant and, perhaps more importantly, it helps to engender an interest in and a respect for the natural world on our doorstep.

Using the Woodland

All year groups make use of the woodland adjacent to school throughout the year for a variety of learning opportunities. This might be regular visits over the course of a term as part of a project or a single visit as a stimulus for writing. The children learn to appreciate the natural environment and enjoy these learning opportunities.

﻿Forest School

As part of their rich primary school experience at Pannal, every child will participate in Forest School. We have an area of woodland adjacent to the school grounds and direct access to this wonderful learning environment. Currently, all of our year 5 and 6 children take part in a series of Forest School sessions each term. Through a balance of supported and self-initiated tasks, children learn to appreciate the natural world and their responsibility to care for it. They are taught to use tools safely, assess and manage risks, negotiate and cooperate with each other and value others’ strengths and opinions. Research has shown that Forest School develops children’s confidence, self-esteem and determination to persevere with tasks: attributes which have far reaching benefits.

In year 6, children work to achieve the first level of the John Muir Award. This is an environmental award that encourages people of all backgrounds to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places through a structured yet adaptable scheme. The Award is not competitive but challenges each participant. Taking part develops an understanding of, and responsibility for wild places.

To achieve the Award the children must discover a wild place, explore its wildness, do something to conserve it and share their experiences with others.

With the guidance and support of their teachers and support staff, they follow their own interests and complete a record book as evidence of their learning. This is a very worthwhile achievement in which the children take great pride. www.jmt.org/jmaward-home

Global

We recognise that our immediate environment does not offer many opportunities for experiencing other cultures and traditions and so we plan carefully to ensure that our children have an understanding of the diversity of our world.

The learning of a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for pupils. It raises awareness of the multi-lingual and multi-cultural world and introduces an international dimension to pupils’ learning, giving them an insight into their own culture and that of others. Further, the learning of a foreign language provides a medium for cross-curricular links.

French is taught to all children throughout the school. At Pannal, we aim to develop speaking and listening skills, and lay the foundations for future study and transition. French is introduced at Key Stage 1 through songs, rhymes and games. It is taught weekly throughout Key Stage 2 in a fun and enjoyable way. Topics are interesting and relevant, and engage and stimulate learning. The children learn both the language and the culture of France and other European countries. Each year we embrace this by marking European Day of Languages with a whole school themed day.

Lessons meet the needs of the children in listening and speaking skills at Lower Key Stage 2. As the children progress to Upper Key Stage 2, they learn to read and write in French and speak with more confidence, thus preparing them for the transition to secondary school.

At Pannal, we work closely with a cluster of primary and secondary schools to share good practice, and meet the needs of transition from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3. We also take part annually in a ‘Celebration of Languages’ with other primary schools at Harrogate Grammar School. We have established a 3 school link for our Year 5 children to appreciate different school environments.

We are currently setting up a link with a local primary school to enable our Year 6 children to communicate in French with other pupils. In addition, Pannal school is forming a partnership with a school in Metz in Northern France to enable all pupils to communicate with their French peers. Click on the image below to visit their website.

We consider carefully the resources we use with our children in order to ensure we are promoting positive images of other cultures and traditions and not reinforcing stereotypes.

“I enjoy learning French because it is challenging and I learn new things every lesson”

Enterprise

Enterprise

We are committed to promoting entrepreneurial skills as a basis for our fundraising across the year. The children learn about financial understanding and capability. Local business links enhance this area of the curriculum.

For 'Children in Need' Day, our Key Stage 2 children have the opportunity to devise their own stalls to fund raise.

We use resources from the Personal Finance Education Group (www.pfeg.org) to develop children's understanding of financial matters. This covers areas such as how to manage money and how finance plays an important part in people's lives.

The pictures below are of the biscuits made by Y5/6 to sell at the Christmas Fair. Mr Murray works for Greggs and visited to help us understand how to package and promote our biscuits.